Sisterly Love
by Mitsu Sayama
Summary: Requested by fanficfreak12 Rated for future content


It was nearly one o' clock and I didn't have much time left to escape. If I was going to avoid the torture my father was about to put me through, I would have to leave quickly, but I would also have to get past him first. Knowing full well what was waiting for me if I failed, I slipped out of my bedroom and closed the door slowly behind me to keep it from creaking. Then I slinked down the hallway to the stairs. Each step I made was cautious, walking on the balls of my toes to keep my heels from clicking on the wooden steps.

A beeping noise went off in my pocket just when I reached the last step and my heart jumped in my throat. Damn it, Krystal, why did you have to choose now of all times to text me?! After looking around for a moment to make sure that Dad was not in sight, I shoved my hand into my pocket and retrieved my phone.

'r u rdy'

I rolled my eyes in exasperation, but replied anyways. If I didn't, I knew that Krystal would just fill up my phone with the same message until I answered.

'ya just going. Meet u guys there'

I pressed send and shoved the phone back into my pocket just as a hand landed on my shoulder and startled me enough to make me scream out. Whipping around I saw my father standing there with a grin on his wide, round face.

"Sorry hon, I didn't mean to scare you," he said. While he managed to keep from laughing, I could plainly see the glimmer of amusement in his eyes. A very straightforward man, even in his expression. Then he looked me up and down. "You look great Tess, but . . . Don't you think you're a little over dressed?"

Even though I always looked over dressed when standing next to my father - a man who believed jeans were for special occasions only - he did have a point. My mauve satin shirt, skin tight blue jeans, and black heels were a bit over the top for a sit down lunch at home.

"Yeah, about that," I began, drawing out my words as my mind raced for an excuse. Not finding one, and not really feeling like creating a whole big story just to go out, I sighed and told him the truth. "Actually, Krystal and I have plans for today." The moment those words came out of my mouth I could see the look of disappointment on his face. It almost made me feel sorry for skipping out on him, but -

"No Tess."

I stopped in the middle of my sentence, eyes wide in disbelief. "Excuse me?"

"I said no, Tess. You've been dodging this for a long time and I have had enough. You've been letting us all down - especially Ellen." His words were kind enough, but were laced with an air of authority that I had not heard from him in a long time. It reminded me of when I was a little girl, back when I still looked up to him. Perhaps that is why I sighed and muttered out my defeat.

As if on cue, the doorbell rang and my father moved to answer it. I turned my back and pulled out my cell to text Krystal.

'I cant make it ttyl'

Then I switched my phone to vibrate and returned it to my pocket before turning around to see Dad ushering in Eva and her daughter - who frankly struck me as a boy with small breast implants. She wasn't completely horrible looking, but I could easily tell that she didn't put much effort into her appearance. Still, I forced a smile and nodded to her. When she began to offer out her hand, I quickly turned my back and head for the kitchen.

"Everyone ready to eat?" I asked over my shoulder in an effort to make it seem as though I had simply not noticed her gesture. I felt as though my father was staring at me, but I didn't care. He was forcing me to go through this. He had never told me to be nice about it, though.

The others followed behind me, Eva and my father chattering awkwardly in an effort to make things friendly again. I felt slightly guilty when Dad aimed a frown at me, but I just gave a small shrug and sat down, leaving him to serve the food. Ellen sat down directly across from me and flashed a small smile.

I knew her type immediately. She was the girl who kept her head down in school, didn't really hang out with any groups but also made an effort to at least keep on everyone's good side. She was smart, but played it safe too - I knew that much at least from her choice in collage. All in all, she was someone with potential that will never be fully used, a somebody destined to be a nobody.

Dad seemed to sense that I was out for blood today, making sure to keep the conversation away from me. For once I was fine with not chiming in with my opinion. Every few minutes or so my phone vibrated in my pocket with a new message from Krystal. I did my best to ignore it and not pull my cell out at the table, but with each new vibration I felt my temper continued to rise. Why the hell did I have to put up with this? It wasn't like this was the only day we could have gotten together, and if Dad wouldn't make such last minute plans like this then maybe I would be able to actually make time sit down with him and Eva.

I had just finished off my plate and was hoping to be able to excuse myself when Ellen decided to say, "So, Tess, what are your plans for collage?"

It was a simple question, but it released all my anger into one response. After all, why would someone like her care about talking about collage? It wasn't as if going would even do her any good, and listening to my plans would surely make that abundantly clear to her.

"Well, Ellen," I began, wiping my mouth with a napkin and placing it in my lap, "unlike you, I don't plan to go to a backup collage that takes in rejects that were unable to make it into the prime time. I actually plan to do something with my life."

The look on the girl's face was priceless, but I didn't bother to stick around to take it all in. I pushed back my chair and quickly walked away from table, heading for the front door. Behind me I could hear my father stand up and shout out my name, but I ignored him. I slammed the door behind me and began walking down the sidewalk, pulling out my cell as I went. Instead of going through all of Krystal's texts, I simply sent her a new message.

'nm on my way now'

I couldn't help but to stare opened mouth at Tess's empty seat. Mom had warned me that she was a very outspoken person, but this was beyond even my definition of 'outspoken'. This girl was . . . A bitch.

Next to me, Mom was shaking her head, her lips pursed in anger. I could tell that she was doing her best not to criticize Tess since she wasn't her daughter, or was at least saving her opinion until her and Albert were alone. Poor Albert's face was deep red and he was shaking with what seemed to be a mixture of embarrassment and anger. He sighed and turned to face me.

"Ellen, I'm sorry. She's been in rare form lately but I never expected something like this."

I nodded, doing my best to force a smile but failed miserably. "Don't worry about it. This isn't the first time I've had to put up with someone like her." Albert looked a little better after that, but not by much. The lunch wasn't over yet, but after that outburst I had lost my appetite, so I stood and slipped on my jacket. "I think that I'll head out now, Mom. You and Albert seem like you need some time alone."

"No, no, Ellen, that's fine -" Mom began to protest, but when I put my hand on her shoulder she let out a defeated sigh. "Alright hon, I love you."

I kissed her forehead, a rare gesture on my part, and headed out. Closing the door lightly behind me I looked up and down the street, wondering which direction Tess had taken. On a while guess I turned left and began walking.


End file.
